Fun Facts
Map of Africa, with South Africa highlighted
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Contrary to popular belief, “South Africa” is not a geographic location; it is the actual name of a country situated on the southern tip of the African continent. It has a land area of 1.22 million square kilometers (470,693 square miles), which makes it about eight times smaller than the USA. It is the 7th largest country in Africa, and the 24th largest in the world. South Africa has a population of about 59 million people.
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Cape Town
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In terms of latitude, Cape Town is one of the most southerly major cities on earth. Only Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney (all in Australia), Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand, Buenos Aires in Argentina and Montevideo in Uruguay are located at a more southerly latitude, and most of these by only a very small margin. Only 10% of the world’s population lives in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Pretoria
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There are 15 countries in the world that have more than one capital city. 14 of them have two capital cities, but South Africa is the only country to have three; Pretoria (the administrative and executive capital), Cape Town (the legislative capital) and Bloemfontein (the judicial capital).
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People of South Africa
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South Africa has 11 official languages; English, Afrikaans, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, SiSwati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. There are only two other countries that have more official languages than South Africa; India (22) and Zimbabwe (16).
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Skull of a juvenile male Australopithecus sediba
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The Cradle of Humankind is a paleoanthropological site located north-west of Johannesburg, South Africa. Declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, the site currently occupies 47,000 hectares (180 square miles) and contains a complex of limestone caves. It is the world's richest hominin site, and is home to about 40% of the world's human ancestor fossils. Both genetic research and the fossil record prove that all modern humans can trace their origins back to southern and eastern Africa.
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Van Riebeeck landing at the Cape (painting by Charles Bell)
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The sea route from Europe to Asia around the southern tip of Africa has always been of significant historical importance, as it provided an alternative to the highly disputed, dangerous and difficult trade route across the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Peninsular. The first person to complete this passage was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, in 1488. But it would be another 164 years before the land now known as South Africa would be permanently populated by European settlers; this occurred on 6 April 1652, with the establishment of a replenishment base by Dutch sailors under the command of Jan van Riebeeck.
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Richtersveld
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There are 10 UNESCO World Heritage sites in South Africa: -
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Table Mountain, Cape Town
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Table Mountain, which towers above South Africa’s mother city of Cape Town, was recently voted as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature in the world. The others are the Amazon rainforest, Halong Bay in Vietnam, Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil, Jeju Island in South Korea, Komodo in Indonesia, and the Puerto Princesa Underground River in the Philippines.
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Cape Floral Region
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The Cape Floral Region has been recognized as one of the most special places for plants in the world in terms of diversity, density and number of endemic species. The property is a highly distinctive phytogeographic unit which is regarded as one of the six Floral Kingdoms of the world, and is by far the smallest and relatively the most diverse. It represents less than 0.5% of the area of Africa, but is home to nearly 20% of the continent’s flora. Some 69% of the estimated 9,000 plant species in the region are endemic, with 1,736 plant species identified as threatened and with 3,087 species of conservation concern. The Cape Floral Region was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, and has been identified as one of the world’s 18 biodiversity hotspots.
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Tugela Falls
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Although it is generally accepted that the tallest waterfall in the world is the Angel Falls in Venezuela (979 meters or 3,212 feet), measurements taken by a Czech scientific expedition in 2016 have proven that this title should actually belong to the Tugela Falls (983 meters or 3,225 feet), a complex series of waterfalls located in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa. Angel Falls does have the biggest single drop, however, at 807 meters (2,647 feet).
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Satellite image of the Vredefort Dome
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The Vredefort Structure, more commonly known as the Vredefort Dome, was formed about 2 billion years ago when a massive asteroid, some 10 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter, slammed into the earth travelling at a speed of about 20 kilometers (12 miles) per second. The impact formed a crater approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) deep and 300 kilometers (180 miles) across. The crater itself has been heavily eroded over time, and all that remains today are the remnants of the central uplift, or “dome”, as well as the surrounding upended strata which form a semi-circular ring of mountains called the Bergland. It was the world’s greatest known single energy event, and resulted in massive global change, possibly even major evolutionary changes. It is both the oldest and the largest confirmed meteorite crater that geologists have found on earth to date.
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Lesotho
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The small, mountainous, landlocked country of Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa; this is known as an enclave country. There are only two other enclave countries in the world, and they are both surrounded by Italy – San Marino, and the Vatican City.
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British Crown Jewels
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The biggest gem-quality diamond ever found was unearthed at the Premier Mine in Cullinan, South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It weighed in at an incredible 3,106.75 carats. It was cut into 96 small gems and 9 large gems, including the Cullinan I (also known as the Great Star of Africa), a 530.4 carat stone. The Cullinan I is set in the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, an important part of the British Crown Jewels.
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Platinum mining
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South Africa is the world's largest platinum producer, producing more than twice as much as every other country on Earth combined (70% of the total world output). Other top producers include Russia (15%), Zimbabwe (7%), Canada (4%) and the USA (2%).
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Soweto
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Soweto is a large sprawling township which is located on the south-western edge of South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg. One of the roads in the township, Vilakazi Street, has an unusual claim to fame – it has been the home of two Nobel Peace Prize laureates. They were Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who won the prize in 1984, and Nelson Mandela, who was awarded the honor together with F.W. de Klerk in 1993.
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Soccer World Cup, South Africa, 2010
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South Africa is the only country in Africa, and only the second country in the Southern Hemisphere, to have hosted the Soccer World Cup (in 2010). It also hosted the Rugby World Cup (in 1995) and the Cricket World Cup (in 2003). England is the only other country that can claim to have played host to all three of these major international tournaments.
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Comrades Marathon
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Three of the world’s biggest (i.e. most competitors) single sporting events take place in South Africa every year. They are the Cape Town Cycle Tour, the world’s largest timed cycle race (more than 35,000 cyclists), the Comrades Marathon, the world’s largest ultra marathon (more than 20,000 runners) and the Midmar Mile, the world’s largest open water swimming event (more than 15,000 swimmers).
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Stargazing in South Africa
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Africa has always been known as the Dark Continent, and that is literally true – on moonless nights, some of the darkest places on earth are located in the region. Certain areas of the Karoo and the Kalahari can register as high as 21.9 on the Sky Quality Meter (SQM) scale of darkness, where 22 is the maximum number. This, together with the absence of natural atmospheric and man-made pollution, has made these areas some of the best stargazing sites on the planet.
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Green Point Lighthouse, Cape Town
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There are 50 lighthouses in South Africa, but only 47 of them are still operational. Most of them can be visited by the public, and some of them also offer overnight accommodation. Many of the lighthouses are historic, and have been designated as national monuments.
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Wine estate near Stellenbosch
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Early settlers of South Africa in the 17th century quickly recognized that the region was perfect for growing grapes, and the first vineyards were planted way back in 1659. Since then, South African wine has become world-renowned for both quality and value, and there are nearly 3000 farms and estates that cultivate grapes for wine production. About 950 million liters of wine is produced per annum, half of which is exported to other countries. Wine tastings at some of the beautiful and historic estates in the Western Cape is a hugely popular leisure activity.
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Louis Washkansky with Doctor Christiaan Barnard
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The world’s first human heart transplant was performed at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, by a team of surgeons led by Doctor Christiaan Barnard, on 3 December 1967. The operation was a complete success, but the recipient, Louis Washkansky, died 18 days later from pneumonia.
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J.R.R. Tolkien
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One of the world’s best known authors, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on 3 January 1892. He moved to England when he was three years old, and later went on to pen many famous books, including “The Hobbit”, “The Lord of the Rings”, and “The Silmarillion”.
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Elon Musk
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Elon Musk was born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa. He moved to Canada when he was 17, and then to the USA two years later. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX, and the co-founder, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc. He is listed by Forbes as being within the top 25 richest people in the world.
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Charlize Theron
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Beautiful actress Charlize Theron was born and raised in Benoni, South Africa. She moved to the USA to pursue her modelling and acting career, and has since become one of the most acclaimed and highest-paid actresses in the industry. She has starred in many well-known movies, and was rewarded with a Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in “Monster”, in 2003.
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Zozibini Tunzi
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South African women have always fared well in the world’s top beauty pageants, with numerous titles and placements in all of the major competitions. South African representatives have won the both the Miss World crown (in 1958, 1974 and 2014) and the Miss Universe crown (in 1978, 2017 and 2019) three times. The last winner, in 2019, was Zozibini Tunzi.
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Safari in South Africa
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The word “safari” is derived from the Swahili word for “journey”. In colonial times, this usually meant a trip where big game would be hunted, shot, and then arduously carried overland by a small army of local tribespeople. But the word has evolved to mean holiday trips that actually benefit the wildlife of Africa, by supporting local conservation efforts and wildlife sanctuaries. As opposed to hunting the animals, visitors get to encounter them and to help make a difference in protecting the species. Most safari companies either actively contribute towards conservation projects, or help to generate tourism revenue which is used to manage wildlife projects and game reserves.
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Kruger National Park
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About 6.5% of South Africa’s terrestrial land area is protected as state-owned or state-managed wildlife and nature reserves. There are over 300 of these protected areas, the largest of which is the Kruger National Park, with an area of 19,485 square kilometers (7,523 square miles); this makes it roughly the same size as Wales in the United Kingdom. In addition, there are many privately-owned game and nature parks.
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Leopards
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South Africa is home to all of Africa’s “Big 5” animals; lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo. The collective name “Big 5” has nothing to do with size; it came about because, in colonial times, these animals were considered to be the five most dangerous animals to hunt.
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Bottlenose Dolphins
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Did you know that South Africa also has a “Marine Big 5”? They are the Southern Right Whale, the Great White Shark, the Bottlenose Dolphin, the Cape Fur Seal, and the African Penguin. With some careful planning, the correct locations and at the right time of year, it is even possible to see all five of them in one day!
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Sardine Run
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Known as “the largest biomass migration on the planet”, the Sardine Run is an annual phenomenon sparked by the entry of large shoals of sardines into the waters along the east coast of South Africa, usually during June or July each year. Although the great bulk of South Africa's sardine stock is to be found in the cold Cape waters, each winter a small proportion of the stock moves eastwards up the Wild Coast. These shoals take advantage of cool water on the continental shelf of the east coast that occurs seasonally as a narrow band between the coast and the warm, southward flowing Agulhas Current. The shoals, some of which consist of billions of fish, can be more than 7 kilometers (4 miles) long, 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) wide, and 40 meters (130 feet) deep.
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Knysna Turaco
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South Africa is considered to be one of the best birding destinations in the world. Of the approximately 850 recorded bird species in the country, around 725 are either resident or regular annual visitors. About 70 of these are endemic or near-endemic, giving birders a prime opportunity to spot something very rare and special. In addition, there are many migrant birds that hail from across the globe; some have their origins in China, Europe and even the Arctic and the Antarctic.
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Rock Hyrax (“Dassie”)
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Believe it or not, the closest living relative to the largest land animal on the planet, the African Elephant, is the Rock Hyrax – a small rodent-like mammal which is commonly found throughout South Africa. Locals refer to it as the “Dassie”, a name derived from the Dutch word “Das”, meaning badger. They live in large colonies, usually made up of several family groups comprising a dominant male and his harem of several related females and their offspring. Dassies provide an important food source for many predators, including birds of prey, snakes, leopards, wild dogs and caracal.
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Bengal Tiger
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If you go on a safari in Africa and you spot a tiger, it would definitely be something to write home about. Lions, leopards and tigers are all part of the Felidae family of cats, which originated in Africa and which share a common ancestor. At some point, probably around 2 million years ago, one offshoot of Felidae migrated east toward Asia, and those cats evolved into the orange, black, and white-striped beasts that exist today. Once established in Asia, tigers never returned to Africa, although scientists aren't exactly sure why. The confusion about tigers on the continent originated because early European settlers in South Africa used to refer to the leopard as a “Tier”, an Afrikaans word which translates as “Tiger”.
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